The season started back in September. Since then, we’ve spent two nights a week plus almost every weekend, usually twice a weekend, at an ice rink. We have travelled more miles than I can think to count, spent countless hours in the car, packed and unpacked the hockey bags a thousand times, and experienced the typical highs and lows that come with rooting for a favorite team.
And now it is coming to an end.
While I am thrilled at the idea that our weekends will be somewhat freed up (at least the games will be more local and thus require less of our day), I suspect that I am going to experience some withdrawal and the emotions that go along with that. I have really enjoyed getting to know the kids and the parents on the team and I think we have all become friends. I certainly have spent more time with them than I have with any other friends I have. There is a bond that comes with all the time and energy we expend on behalf of our boys and the team as a whole.
Since we don’t live near most of the team and none of the boys go to school with my son, he won’t have regular contact with them during the off-season. And he is one of only 4 boys on the team that is aging up next season, so he won’t be playing with this group again. I know that we’ll bond again with whichever team he plays on next year, but seeing as this was our first time on a travel team of this intensity, I think we will always remember our Squirt B teammates as a special group.
It is not over quite yet, we still have one more tournament to go. So I plan to go and enjoy every minute and revel in the camaraderie that results from a group focused on one goal – the success and well-being of our favorite team.
So for one last time this season – GOOOOOOOO DOGS!!!
Tending the Goalie 